My First Trip to China: July 23

Artsy shot of Hong Kong downtown.

It's a very cosmopolitan city with many areas easily accessible by the metro. I would have been lost numerous times, however without Charlotte's sharp eyes seeing the signs and her keen memory for landmarks. We fell into a very non-Chinese habit of eating breakfast at the Pacific Coffee Company in the mornings, but we were far more adventurous later in the day. The little hole-in-the-wall restaurants where the Chinese go were wonderful, and we ate noodles with oyster sauce, "sea blubber" (think of salty rubber bands), potato pancakes with oysters, preserved eggs (the whites are see-through brown and the yolks are black - oddly delicious!), and various other dishes that tantalized and terrified. The only thing I ate that gave me the coli-wobbles was the prepared lunch through the convention. The most supicious part of it was the bone, gristle, and fat that they billed as "pork".

The kids in HK are on summer break now and because there are very few playgrounds, the families often go to the beach or hiking in the mountains. The kids in high school and middle school don't dress up a whole lot (although the college students and adults generally do). The kids wear baggy t-shirts, frayed (but not torn) jeans, and Chuck Taylors - both boys and girls. Charlotte commented that she sometimes can't tell the boys from the girls. She also noted that everyone has glasses - not contact lenses. A huge event there was the book fair at the Convention Center. There were hundreds, possibly thousands of people in line for it. All the new books are on display, and most of the attendees are families and teens. The bookstores are full all the time here. Cool! Sometimes you see very little tykes up very late, walking wit their families to the metro. The Harry Potter movie came out while we were there; so maybe that was it. (We bought a copy of "The Deathly Hallows" -more on that later.)

We wandered into an open market one day where everyone was doing their daily shopping. Delicacies such as live fish and pig's stomach were on display along with bok choy and asparagus. The vendors didn't like our taking pictures; so we wandered elsewhere. The shops in this Central HK area all had incense (can't bring it on the plane home- darn!), jade doo-dads, and paper shoes, watches, etc. I remember seeing these before, but I can't remember the significance of the paper stuff. Almost bought Ken a paper Rolex, but it was in a set that would be hard to pack! The Temple Street Night Market was a materialist's dream. Stall after stall of unbelievably inexpensive goods drew us up and down for 3 hours. Charlotte's fave pick: a messenger bag with a picture of Mao on it. My fave - a green Mandarin jacket, and what I bought for Mother...

Hong Kong smells terrible at intervals and not just when you pass a traditional medicin store with dried fish stuff out front. The drain grates exude a noxious smell and the harbour can blow in a stale fishy odor. People are very kind and patient with us, and except in a dash for a train, they are generally unrushed - or at least less rushed than we. Mandarin doesn't generally work here, but the delighted reaction you get for saying "thanks" in Cantonese is remarkable.

The arts facilities range from the very swanky Academy for the Performing Arts to the Cattle Depot Artist Village in -you guessed it - an old Cattle depot. There's a lot of respect for diversity here. The old are revered, children are treasured, and the disabled are cared for. Part of the closing ceremonies and one of the workshops included perfromances by "Danceability", a dance group made up of physically challenged people and "Chosen Power" , a self-named group of students with intellectual and physical challenges who meet at the Boys and Girls Club.